Cyberchase: Cry of the Lost
by Phoenix Ride
Summary: Things have gone horrible in Cyberspace, Matt is in jail, accused for a crime he didn't commit! With Hacker after the loot that was stolen, and a shifty shade on the loose, will Jackie, Digit, and Inez be able to prove Matt's innocence before he becomes a fugitive for life? Find out! Please Read and Review!
1. Chapter 1: A Shifty Shade

**Cyberchase: Cry of the Lost**

**By: Phoenix Ride**

**Ch.1: A Shifty Shade**

Bright lights and cheers reflected through the shining, blue stones that encircled the cybersite When Rich Action Knocks. A place where all the well dressed and adourned could lie on their snelfus and wallow in luxary.

The site's premise for etremely rare cyber crystals was the very basis of its fortune. Blue cyberite alone was worth thousands of dollars, but thanks to recent excevations, the citizens wealth could almost triple in price.

To celebrate this new found discovery, all of the great leaders of Cyberspace were invited to a galla. Of course, Motherboard would be there, and she brought the Cybersquad along as her personal guests.

Matt was busy tugging at the collar of his tux, while Jackie and Inez just watched the aristocrats ballet on the dance floor. Being around eleven years old, the thought of being formal never comes to mind. And the shock of making a wrong impression was enough to kill trees.

Everything was ritzy here, and the thought of doing anything wrong was making Matt sweat tears.

"Are you okay Matty?" asked Digit, looking towards the red-haired boy.

"I'm fine" said Matt " it's just hot that's all,"

"Don't worry Matt" said Digit " everyone gets ansty here. I mean, this is the richest site in Cyberspace. If you piled up the snelfus it would probably reach higher than Control Central,"

"That is a lot of snelfus" said Jackie " but I wonder what this new discovery could be?"

There's the host" said Inez, pointing to a ritzy elephant approaching the stand " Maybe he has the answers,"

After tapping the mike with his trunk to make sure it worked, Mr. Rich spoke out to the huge auidence around him.

"Honored guests, I greatly thank you all for coming to our big celebration galla. As we all know, blue cyberite is a very valueable resource that has stamped our site's name to the very extent of our rich history. But now, thanks to the hard work of our miners, we've uncovered something truly astounding. A mineral believed to exsist only in legends...Phoenix Gold,"

A collective gasp choked the entire crowd, and a few mumbles stirred the air. Matt, Jackie, and Inez sat silent. What was Phoenix Gold?

As if to answer, Mr. Rich held up a shining piece of yellow rock in his hand. But it didn't just shine, it glowed, and the glow twisted and turned just like the flame on a fire.

"Wow" said Matt, captivated by the glow. Jackie and Inez nodded their agreement.

"For now" continued Mr. Rich " this priceless find is locked safely in our vault, but soon we will sell it so everyone can get a piece,"

"I wouldn't mind having one of those," said Matt.

"Me neither," said Jackie, Inez, and Digit.

Yes, everyone was just dying to get a piece of the Phoenix Gold, but soon it wouldn't be the gold they'd be chasing, but someone else.

* * *

Meanwhile, over in the Northern Frontier, Hacker was busy breaking up his two dunce-buckets for fighting over the remote when Mr. Rich's announcement of Phoenix Gold caught his interest on the screen.

Greed filled up Hacker's eyes quickly, and the genius of a evil scheme twisted in his mind. Why should those rich monkeys keep all the loot for themselves? Why, it would be criminal to keep Hacker from getting his fair share.

"Buzz! Delete!" shouted Hacker " Fire up the engines! We're going to When Rich Action Knocks!"

* * *

Back at the galla, Matt found himself lost in the crowd while Jackie and Inez went for punch. He wasn't sure how he could find his way back to the banquet table.

"It's got to be somewhere in this swarm," thought Matt.

A shifty shadow suddenly caught Matt's eyes, dashing and dodging between the crowd. The artistcrats barely noticed its presence, to caught up in their own expensive worlds.

Coming to a stop just a few feet away, the shadow stood still and twisted its orange eyes around, as if looking for something important.

Matt could now make out more detail in this strange figure. It was completely lizard-like with long, sharp claws and spines that stood out like a headdress of feathers on a Chief's head. The tip of the tail was spiked with a deadly-looking arrow that would have no problem slicing an enemy heart.

"I wonder what site he's from?" thought Matt, curious about this creature he had never seen.

Before he could approach and ask though, the lizard let loose a toothy grin and then dashed off to the West, flying striaght through the crowd.

Determined to catch it, Matt ran after the shifty shade, curious as to where it was going.

Dodging the crowd wasn't an easy task, but Matt managed to keep up with the shade. They were now outside the party lines and into the city itself.

Making its direction towards the bank, the shade slipped himself inside with Matt soon following suit. Taking cover behind a desk, Matt watched as the shade extended its claw towards the vault door, purple energy dancing from the tips.

"What's he doing?" wondered Matt, as the claw touched the vault.

A gasp escaped the earthling's mouth just a second later as he watched the purple energy the shade produced attach and melt through the steel door. The glow of Phoenix Gold instantly lit up the room the moment the door was gone.

"I have to stop him!" thought Matt, as the shade picked up a few pieces of the gold.

He stood up to grab the shade, but just as he was within reach, a red light flashed on and the wail of the alarm suddenly blasted through the room.

The shade turned and faced Matt. The earthling had been caught!

* * *

Back at the galla, Jackie and Inez were confused to where Matt had went. A third cup of punch sat cupped in Inez's hand with nowhere to go.

"Where is he?" asked Inez " it's not like him to disappear,"

"I wouldn't be surprised in this crowd" said Jackie " let's go back to the banquet table,"

Just as she said that a loud alarm suddenly blasted through, and Mr. Rich looked towards the city with shock.

"The vault! The vault! Someone's breaking into the vault!"

"Let's move!" said Inez, dashing towards the city, Jackie and Digit right behind her.

* * *

"You dunce-buckets!" shouted Hacker, smacking his two bots " Now the whole town knows we're here! We've barely even stepped inside, and you set off the alarm!"

"I thought it was a lightswitch," stumbled Delete.

"To the Wreaker quick!" said Hacker " We will have to come back another time. But rest assured, that gold will be mine!"

* * *

"Everything looks fine in here," said Inez, as she and the others arrived at the bank. The vault was still in one piece, and it didn't look like anything had been disturbed.

"Maybe we should check the vault just in case," said Jackie.

"I'll open it," said Mr. Rich, and punched in the combination to the vault.

Slowly the door clicked and swung open, allowing everyone to see the space inside. Once open, the air was cut with sharp gasps.

All of the Phoenix Gold was gone! And Matt was lying face down on the floor!


	2. Chapter 2: Imprisoned Matt

**Ch.2: Imprisoned Matt**

What had started as a great day, was now sitting cold behind a set of steel bars. Matt, member of Motherboard's Cybersquad, thrown in jail for the charge of grand theft. How could this day had gotten worse?

Sitting solemnly in his cell, Matt tried to remember the events that ended up getting him thrown in jail. It had all started when Jackie and Inez found him in the vault.

All of the citizens of When Rcih Action Knocks were surprised, but Mr. Rich was downright furious. He picked up Matt by the collar before the earthling could even explian.

"Where is it?!" demanded Mr. Rich " What have you done with our gold?!"

Matt was stunned, and Jackie and Inez quickly moved to his defense, trying to pry the elephant's hands away from Matt. It didn't work, and Matt was thrown into the arms of the cops, slapped with cuffs, then taken on to jail.

"And I was worried about making a bad impression," thought Matt.

His bail was set over one million dollars. There was no way he was getting out of here.

The door from the hallway suddenly opened, allowing Jackie, Inez, and Digit to enter the room. Their faces almost wore the same solemn expression Matt had.

"Hey guys," said Matt, as his friends approached.

"Hey" said Inez " We had a hard time convincing them to let us in here,"

"No surprise" said Matt " they're ready to prosecute me,"

"What happened anyway?" asked Digit.

"I saw someone heading for the bank" said Matt " I tried to stop him from stealing the gold, but when the alarm went off, he saw me and knocked me out,"

"Did you see what he looked like?" asked Jackie.

"Yeah," said Matt, and gave them the description. Inez typed it in on her Squackpad.

"Yikes!" said Digit " This guy is creepier than the folks on Castlablanca,"

"Think that's where he's from?" asked Jackie.

"We've never seen anyone like this" said Inez "We'll try to get you out of here Matt, just be strong,"

"Right," said Matt, as his friends turned to leave " I'll be strong,"

* * *

"Poor Matt" said Jackie, as she and the others walked through the site " We got to find proof,"

"I wonder if Motherboard managed to convince Mr. Rich to let us watch the security tapes," said Inez.

"Let's hope so" said Digit " I don't know how long Matt can take it in the slammer,"

A few minutes later the trio was inside the security room of the WRAK building.

"If it wasn't for Motherboard" scoffed Mr. Rich " I wouldn't be showing you this tape. But you can see clearly on this footage that it was your friend who stole our gold,"

"We'll be the judge of that," said Inez, grabbing the tape and putting it in the slot. As the tape started to play, she prayed…

"Please let this work,"

* * *

Back at the Northern Frontier, Hacker was trying to think of a new way to get to the Phoenix Gold when Buzz and Delete called him over to the TV screen. The word 'theft' stood out in bold, red letters.

"Turn it up!" demanded Hacker, the bots complied.

"This was the scene earlier last night" reported Mr. Vanderom " an empty vault, containing million dollars' worth in Phoenix Gold. Not a single trace of the valuable mineral was left behind,"

"What!" shouted Hacker " Someone stole that gold before me! Who was it?!"

"The robber was found locked inside the vault, and who he turned out to be is a shocker" said Mr. Vanderom " it's none other than the only human boy on the Cybersquad, Matt,"

"Huh? What's this?" said Hacker " Can I be hearing him right? One of the Cybersquad has actually turned to the dark side. Woo, this is to good to be true. Buzz! Delete! Get the Wreaker in gear, we're going back to When Rich Action Knocks,"

* * *

Ten times, that had to be the exact amount they rewound and watched this tape, and there was nothing but Matt's image on the screen. There was no lizard-like beast, only Matt and noone else.

"He couldn't have lying could he?" said Inez.

"Matt's not really a liar" said Jackie " If he says he saw an intruder, we should believe him,"

"But there's nothing to prove it on tape" said Digit " so far the only thing that makes sense is the numbers,"

"What numbers?" asked Jackie.

"Those ones flashing at the bottom of the screen" said Digit "They've been going up and down every time you've rewound the tape,"

"That's it time!" said Inez " We need to check the time! We need to start where Matt first entered the vault and calculate how much time passes before the gold disappears,"

"Yeah" said Jackie " Gold is so heavy no one can lift a pile of it all at once,"

"Exactly" said Inez, playing the tape " Here's where Matt entered the vault, stop, 16.51. Now for the gold, stop, 16.85. A full 34 seconds passed by before the gold disappeared, and after Matt entered the vault. That's not enough time for any human to get away with a big heist, especially not with an entire stock of gold,"

"Then the time code is proof" said Jackie " Matt is innocent. We've may not have seen the person who actually took the gold, but when we present this to Mr. Rich, Matt is as good as free,"

"Then let's go!" said Digit, and the three immediately ran off and left.

* * *

Meanwhile, back in the jail cell, Matt was trying hard not to be bored out of his mind. He kind of wished he had his Squackpad with him so he could play games. Too bad it was confiscated to the evidence room.

A soft scraping, sliding sound suddenly caught Matt's ear, and looked down in shock to see his Squackpad roll up right next to his feet.

"Huh?" said Matt confused, and looked through the cage bars. Through the steel rods he could see the same shifty shade he had caught breaking into the vault. Its eyes stared right at Matt, conveying a curious, orange glow.

"You again!" said Matt " What are doing here? Why did you steal the gold?"

"Looosst…," was all the creature whispered.

"Lost?" said Matt, even more angry and confused " What do you mean? What are you talking about?"

The creature faded away and disappeared.

"Hey wait!" shouted Matt, then suddenly there was a boom as the wall crashed in.

For a small moment Matt sat choking on a cloud of stone dust, when an imposing figure entered the new doorway. The earthling's eyes widened up with fright the moment he saw that familiar green chin.

"Hacker!" said Matt.

The villain laughed, gleaming sadistic grin.

"Welcome boy" stated Hacker " to the life of crime!"


	3. Chapter 3: In Hacker's Hands

**Ch.3: In Hacker's Hands**

" Mr. Rich!" shouted Jackie, as she and the others ran into the office with the tape "We have something to show you,"

The ringing of the phone soon cut their speech short as the elephant picked up to answer. A few seconds later, the cybermates could make out the impression of pure anger on his face.

"He escaped!" growled Mr. Rich " What do mean he escaped?! Don't move, I'll soon be down there with every officer I have!"

After slamming down the phone, Mr. Rich rudely brushed past the stunned Cybersquad, whispering cruel words under his breath.

"Still think your friend is so innocent?" said Mr. Rich "That was the captain of the police force. Your friend has been broken out of jail, thanks to the Hacker,"

Inez, Jackie, and Digit didn't know what to say and just stood there stunned as Mr. Rich walked away from view. Neither of them could believe what was happening. Matt was in the hands of Hacker. Was it by his own choice, or by force? Could it be possible that Matt had lied about who really stole the gold?

"I can't believe this" said Digit " this just can't be real,"

"Real or not" said Inez " this has gotten way out of hand. I doubt Matt would just turn around and become a crook. We need to regroup and talk to Motherboard. We don't know why Hacker is helping Matt, but I doubt its for anything good,"

* * *

–-

Meanwhile, while flying through Cyberspace, Matt was waking up to an entirely new situation. Trapped aboard the Grim Wreaker, with the trio of villains he worked so hard to win against.

Hacker sat in his favorite recharger chair, grinning wickedly, while Buzz and Delete stood at his side, mimicking his smile.

"Welcome Matthew" said Hacker " to my lovely home,"

"What do you want Hacker?" asked Matt.

"Can't I help out a fellow criminal?" said Hacker " After all, we're on the same side now,"

"I'm not a criminal!" said Matt " and we're not on the same side!"

"Then why did I find you in jail?" scoffed Hacker " Oh, that's right, for stealing a vault's worth of precious Phoenix Gold. You're a fugitive now Mattie, better get used to it,"

"But I didn't steal the gold" said Matt " that lizard-like creature did,"

"Don't lie to me boy" said Hacker " I've made my career out of lies and schemes. Now that one of Motherboard's flunkies finally turned to the dark side, I'm willing to offer a little deal. Either join me as my partner, or rot in my dungeon,"

"Pass" said Matt " I've seen how you treat your followers, and I'll never work someone ugly like you!"

"Ugly!" shouted Hacker, getting ticked, but surprisingly the moment was soon over with calm " Insults aside, it may be better to give you some time to think before making the right decision. Enjoy the dungeon pretty boy!"

"Ahh!" cried Matt, as the floor suddenly opened up beneath his feet, and then sealed itself shut after he fell.

Landing with a hard thump, Matt scanned with his eyes to peer at his new surroundings.

Big, white, slanted walls, polished slick so that he couldn't reach the air vents above. An uncomfortably small floor, with little room to stretch or lie down. The ceiling above was padded with black lead, preventing any signal for the Squackpad getting out.

There was no question about it. Matt was trapped and completely on his own.

Sighing sadly, Matt sulked off to one of the small corners of the room, and stared at his Squackpad, its siglessness sapping his hope.

"What do I do now?" sighed Matt.

The answer came suddenly when a beep flashed on screen, and the word 'Lost' lit up the page. The sight of the familiar word stunned Matt.

"Lost?" he thought " That shade!"

Soon, another word came up on screen.

"Matt,"

Curious to who could be actually be able to talk to him, Matt decided to take a risk and respond.

"I'm here," typed Matt.

For awhile there was nothing, and Matt was wondering if had been even worth it to respond, then a huge, red word suddenly popped up on screen.

"Danger!"

As soon as that word was typed, everything seemed to go wacky aboard the Grim Wreaker. Hacker's ship was now rocking and rolling out of control.

"Duncebuckets!" shouted Hacker, up on the bridge " What the heck is happening?"

"There's something wrong with the system Boss" said Buzz " the Grim Wreaker is starting to tear apart!"

"We're going to crash!" yelled Delete.

And with that said, the Grim Wreaker spiraled out of control, crashing into an unmarked cybersite.

Hacker and his gang now stood stranded in the ruins of an ancient city, with Matt tagging along for the ride.

From up on one of the ruins ancient temples, a shifty shade stood grinning at the smoking destruction that was once the Grim Wreaker. Everything had been set. Soon all of Cyberspace would feel the wrath of the Lost.


	4. Chapter 4: A Lost Legend

**Ch.4: A Lost Legend**

Tension gripped the hull of Control Central as Jackie, Digit, and Inez returned to tell Motherboard of Matt's unexpected escape, but there were two other souls who had already informed her.

Standing right in the room was Matt's friend and rival, Slider, along with Shari Spotter, Matt's magical crush.

They had everything from news, and words couldn't mask the shock in their voices as they babbled about what was happening to Matt.

"This is terrible!" said Shari " Matthew can not be responsible for all these horrible things!"

"I agree" said Slider " but the evidence is stacking up against him fast. Gold theft and escape doesn't look good on anyone's record,"

"But we have proof Matt didn't have enough time to steal the gold" said Jackie " No one can rob an entire vault in 34 seconds,"

"Unless" said Inez " if Matt's story is right, the intruder he saw did,"

"Intruder?" asked Motherboard, curious " What intruder?"

"That's what we're wondering," said Inez.

"Matt was the only one we could see on the security tape" said Jackie " so unless the intruder was invisible there's no way we could have missed him,"

"But Matt was able to describe the intruder perfectly" said Digit " there's no reason for him to lie about that. Inez, bring up Matt's description on your Squackpad,"

Inez nodded, typed in a few buttons, and then held the picture up for everybody to see. Slider, Shari, and Motherboard were confused the moment they saw the lizard-like beast.

"I've never seen that thing in Cyberspace before," said slider.

"Nor have I" said Shari " and I study magic,"

"Motherboard?" asked Inez.

"I'm afraid I haven't seen it also" said Motherboard " which is strange because every system in Cyberspace should be connected to me,"

"Could there be some site we don't know about?" asked Jackie.

"Perhaps" said Motherboard " Try talking to Ms. Fileshare at the Cybrary. Maybe one of her books holds the information we need,"

"Sounds like a plan" said Inez, then looked towards Shari and Slider " You guys want to come with us?"

"If it will help clear Matt's name, then yeah!" said Slider. Shari nodded in agreement.

"Then let's go!" said Digit, as a portal opened " Last one to the Cybrary is a rotten egg,"

With that said, everybody jumped into the swirling tunnel of pink light, their hopes running high. Hopefully, all this trouble would soon be over.

Or, was it just beginning?

* * *

For Matt, it was only just the beginning of a really terrible day. First, he was accused of crime he didn't even commit. Then he had gotten himself kidnapped by Hacker who wanted the gold Matt stole. And now, as if to put the cherry on top of the cake, he was stranded with Hacker.

"This is just not my day," sighed Matt, staring forlornly at his Squackpad.

The screen was once again pitch, indicating that no signal could reach wherever they were. Hacker stood about three feet away, shouting at Buzz and Delete who were checking the ship for damage. He was getting impatient for an explanation about the crash.

"We found the problem Boss" said Buzz, poking his head out of the Wreaker's hull.

"Yeah" said Delete, coming out as well " the power core has been completely drained,"

"Impossible!" said Hacker " I just gave the Wreaker a tune up last week. You had something to do with this didn't you?"

Matt was shocked when Hacker quickly turned and pointed the finger towards him.

"Excuse me!" said Matt, miffed " How could I have done this? You had me locked in a dungeon remember?"

"He's got a point Boss" said Buzz " There's no way he could have reached the power core,"

"Why don't we take a break for awhile?" said Delete " This site looks like a nice place to explore,"

"Huh!" scoffed Hacker, looking over at the jungle and ruins that surrounded them " I wouldn't waste a snelfu in this dump. But relaxation sounds like exactly what I need. You, Earthbrat! Go out and find some food, but don't even think about escape, there's nowhere to run from here,"

"Jerk," thought Matt, and walked out towards the ruins. Any place away from Hacker was paradise at the moment.

The structures of the yellow stones around him were both ancient and beautiful, carved with designs that would even make the sculptors on Mount Olympus jealous. Whoever had lived here long ago, certainly had an eagle eye for design.

One particular piece of artwork stood out among the rest. A giant, marble statue of beautiful fox, dressed in following robes, and holding a large scepter in her hand.

"Wow" said Matt " seeing this almost makes me glad I got kidnapped,"

The eyes almost seemed like they staring into some mystic plane. To a world beyond Cyberspace. A world away from Earth.

The moment of wonder was suddenly interrupted by an alarming beep. Immediately, Matt reached down and looked at his Squackpad. A word had appeared.

"MATT!"

And before you could blink twice, Matt was on the ground, knocked out.

* * *

Meanwhile, at the Cybrary, the Cybersquad, along with their friends, were having very little luck finding any reference to the mysterious shade Matt had described. Ms. Fileshare had given the kids all the access they would need, but it seemed, that not even the knowledge of the Cybrary could help them clear up this mystery.

"Uh" said Jackie, tossing another book on the floor " my eyes are getting tired from all this reading. And we still haven't found a clue,"

"Keep looking" said Slider " there must be something we missed,"

"But we already looked through everything," said Jackie, throwing out her arms, accidently bumping Digit.

Reeling back from the unexpected blow, Digit cried and tumbled down a hill of books before suddenly stopping with a bang.

"Ouch!" yelled Digit, as he stood up from the fall "Just great, my beak is bent again,"

"Are you alright Dige?" asked Jackie, as she and others came over to where the bird had landed.

"Sure" said Digit, straightening out his beak " I just banged into something hard, like that metal door here,"

"Hmm" said Inez, looking at the door "I've never seen this in the Cybrary before. And it's the only door I've seen with a coded lock,"

"Maybe that's where we'll find the answer we're looking for," said Shari.

"Only one way to find out" said Inez " we need to crack the code and get inside,"

"Hmm" said Slider, looking at the code lock " There's no numbers, but symbols, and I can't tell what they mean,"

"And there's six of them" said Shari " without knowing how long the code's supposed to be, or whether any of the symbols repeat, it could take us forever to get inside,"

"Wait, there may be a way" said Inez " Jackie, can I see your compact?"

"Sure, but why?" asked Jackie, digging it out, and handing it to Inez.

In a second, Inez opened up the compact, and removed the fluff from inside, covered in white powder. She patted it against the lock, before giving the compact back to Jackie.

"Ah ha!" said Inez " I knew this would work. The white powder exposed the places on the keypad where somebody used their fingers. And the powder only appears in two spots. That means there is only two symbols needed to open the door,"

"And only two combinations for us to guess!" said Jackie, excitedly " Let's try it!"

Hoping the first combination would work, Inez typed in the two symbols. Tension froze in the air, as she pressed the enter key.

Silence, then beep, the door opened, opening up into a dusty room. An old terminal stood inside, flickering to life as the gang walked in.

The door slid closed, and a man's image appeared on screen

"Well" growled the man's image " it's about time somebody got here,"


	5. Chapter 5: Ghosts of Memory

**Ch.5: Ghosts of Memory**

"It's about time" continued the computer, not noticing the stunned looks on the Cybersquaud's faces " this place hasn't been dusted in ages! Look at me! I got cobwebs and dust bunnies up to my circuits! Would it kill you people to clean up once in a while? Now hurry up and get scrubbing! I'm dying to see my beautiful sheen again,"

"Uh, actually Mr. Computer" said Jackie, nervously speaking up for the Cybersquad " Even though I agree with you that this place is dirty, we didn't come to clean you,"

"Then why are you here?" asked the computer, his man image twisting on the screen " only the founders of the Cybrary are allowed in this room,"

"You mean Ms. Fileshare?" asked Inez.

"Who?" said the computer " No, I mean the ones who created me to hold the history of Cyberspace B.M, before Motherboard,"

"But I thought Motherboard has always existed," said Shari.

"Hmph!" said the computer " That's what they want you to believe. In truth, Motherboard was created to hide the sins of the past. To try and make amends for a horrible crime,"

"What crime was that?" asked Digit.

"Not telling!" said the computer "Only the founders are allowed to know that. Now, if you're not going to clean me, leave me be. There's nothing I can help you with,"

"Actually there is" said Slider " Inez, bring up the picture on your Squackpad. We've been looking for info about a creature we think framed our friend Matt, but haven't found anything in the books. Can you tell us about him?"

Inez brought up Matt's description on her Squackpad and showed the picture to the computer, whose cyber eyes peered closely.

The eyes then widened once they had gotten a good look, and the man's image on screen seemed to back away in fear.

"Sorry, can't help you," said the computer.

"Why not?" said Jackie " It's not like he's part of this horrible crime you're avoiding to tell us,"

"Well he is" said the computer, glaring at Jackie " He's a lost. They used to live on that cybersite surrounded by blue crystals, but the horrible crime happened, and now they look like that,"

"Wait a minute" said Inez " When Rich Action Knocks? That's where they used to live?"

"The site wasn't called When Rich Action Knocks way back then" said the computer " It was one of the main cyber storage sites called Jewel Blossom. Their responsibilities were to eat and store deleted or lost data that Cyberspace deemed unnecessary,"

"then when did it become a place for aristocrats?" asked Digit.

"I've already let to much slip" said the computer " I can't tell you anymore,"

"Really?" said Shari, suddenly getting an idea " Not even for a cleaning spell? I'm a sorceress in training you know? I can make all your dust problems disappear,"

"You would really do that?" asked the computer, excited.

"Only if you tell us the truth about this horrible crime," said Shari.

"Oh alright" said the computer " It's a rotten deal, but I'll do anything for a good cleaning,"

And with that said, the grumpy computer began his tale.

* * *

Back when Cyberspace was just beginning to form, everything seemed to be at harmony with the cybersites. Information poured in throughout the clouds, containing data that fed and grew into what we know today.

However, some of the information also proved to be untrue, and had to be deleted in order to maintain perfect balance. The ones in charge for consuming and storage of deleted data were the citizens of Jewel Blossom, who would later be called the Lost.

Over the centuries, millions of deleted bits soared through Jewel Blossom's cliffs, feeding the hungry souls that lived on its surface. Nothing could possibly ruin their lives, until a new piece of data arrived threatening the whole of Cyberspace.

This new data bit was entitled Evil, and it had a powerful influence on Cyberspace. Lies, murder, assault, violence, these words never existed in Cyberspace before Evil arrived, but now it had taken over in force, threatening the Good.

All of Cyberspace suffered, and people of Jewel Blossom weren't excluded. Taken over by a greedy group of heartless souls, the citizens of Jewel Blossom were forced to dig mines in order to extract their cyberite, making their cruel slave masters rich beyond belief.

Seeking a way to stop all of this chaos, and end the suffering of Cyberspace, the most brilliant minds gathered together with a plan to delete evil from existence. There, they began the primary programming for Motherboard, and the design of the ET Virus, short for Evil Termination.

The virus was completed first, and was given extra strength by a powerful sorceress who was good friends to the people who lived on Jewel Blossom. She too, wished for the suffering to stop.

When the virus was launched, it seemed to be a complete success. Evil vanished from every trace corner of Cyberspace! It's data lost to the winds forever! And that, was exactly the problem.

Since the data was now lost, the slaves on Jewel Blossom who had been starving for data since their first days of hard labor found the Evil data and consumed it.

They were forever transformed into dark, sinister shade-like beasts with a grind for violence and a lust for blood. They turned harshly against their captors, and the sorceress who had helped the scientists create the ET Virus was shocked. She couldn't allow this to go on.

Using up all her magical power, the sorceress cast a spell to seal away the Lost, and erased nearly everyone's minds that this tragedy had even occurred. The two scientists who were left to remember what horror their virus had caused, spent the rest of their lives building for amends.

They launched Motherboard who restored peace and balance to all of Cyberspace, and then the Cybrary to lock away the history of what they had done. For they could never forget the tragedy that came along with winning peace.

* * *

"That's so sad," said Inez, after the computer finished telling his tale.

"Yeah" said Jackie, solemnly " who knew something so bad had happened in all of Cyberspace,"

"Wait a minute" said Slider to the computer " you said that all of the Lost were sealed away, but what about the one that Matt saw?"

"Yeah " said Digit " and how come he's the only one who can see it?"

"Those questions I can't answer" said the computer " you'll have to find out on your own. Try looking at the site where the sorceress was born; Cybraya. Now can you hurry it up with the cleaning spell, my circuits are starting to itch."

With a wave of her wand and a whisper of words, Shari made the dust disappear like it had never occurred. The computer breathed a huge sigh of relief and delivered his first cheerful goodbye as the Cybersquad walked out the now open door.

"How are we supposed to find Cybraya?" said Jackie " We don't even know where that is!"

"We probably should have asked" said Inez "but figuring out the mystery of the Lost will just have to wait until we find Matt. If only we had a way to track where Hacker had taken him,"

"Wait a minute" said Digit, his brain suddenly sparking an idea, as he dug into his chest compartment " I can't believe I forgot about this! I grabbed this doohickey from the Wreaker the last time we went to the Northern Frontier. It's a homing device to track the Wreaker if it ever gets lost,"

"And you wait 'till now to tell us!" said Jackie.

"Good work Didge" said Inez, taking the homing device " let's go save Matt!"

With that said the Cybersquad hopped aboard the Cybercoop and activated the device they hoped would lead them to Matt. The time had come for action.

"Hacker, we're coming for you!"


End file.
